Streetlight Saints embrace the spirit of 1977 punk

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Calgary punk band Streetlight Saints have a love for all things 1977. While the members  haven’t been playing music that long, they have been in  bands going all the way back to the 1990s.

 Streetlight Saints play Lethbridge this week. Photo submitted

“We formed in 2012. We’re basically a throwback to  the 1977 punk sound,” said Streetlight Saints frontman Peter McLeod, who has played with bands like the Tartan Hearts and No Coast Hardcore, which he brought to Lethbridge numerous times several years ago.

 

The other band members include guitarist  Chris Schwartz (Steelheads, Knifedogs, Off the Rails and Berzerker AD) and new rhythm section including bassist Craig Weir (Chimp Change) and  drummer Fergie McLean (Conniving Cadavers and Ghost Factory).

 

“So we like things really stripped down. And the 1977 punk was strongly rooted in the working class so that lends itself to the lyrical content of our band,” McLeod said.

 

“We come  from a sub genre called street punk. We like audience interaction and we’re really high energy,” he said.

He noted the Calgary scene has changed a lot  since the mid ’90s.

 

“It’s smaller than it has been in the past. In the mid ’90s when grunge came out, everybody wanted to come to shows and hoped they would see the next big thing. Now the people are there for the music. There's more sincerity,” he observed.

 

“ The Calgary music scene is inbred, so it isn’t unusual for the same drummer to play in different bands.

They play the Moose Hall on Aug. 2 with Red Deer’s Red City Drunk Punks, and Taber jug band punks the Mangy Mutts and local punk heroes the Scallywags.

 

“ I’m excited to see what the scene in Lethbridge is like now, because it has been about 10 years since I played there,” he said.

 

“ We’re excited to be on the road. We’re playing with the Red City Drunk Punks from Red Deer and you can’t have a punk show in Lethbridge without the Scallywags. And The Mangy Mutts are a stripped down jug band, so I’m excited to  see them,” he continued.

 

“ We don‘t tour as much as we used to because we’ve got wives and kids,” he said.

He said the new members are fitting in well, so the band is working on their debut full length CD which they will record in the fall.

 

“It’s been fantastic. We’ve trimmed down from a five piece to a four piece. We’re on different pages in places but we’re on the same page when it comes to music,” he said.

Streetlight Saints, Red City Drunk Punks, the Scallywags, the Mangy Mutts and Bob Scallywag play the Moose Hall, Aug. 2 at 9 p.m.

 There is a $10 cover for the show. 


—By Richard Amery , L.A. Beat Editor

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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 29 July 2014 13:55 )